SHAH ALAM - Umno Supreme Council member Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has posed a pointed question to the party leadership, asking what additional signals they require to comprehend that they have faced rejection from the public.
He stressed that it's time for Umno to come to terms with the reality of dwindling support among Malay voters.
"The collaboration between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) in forming the state government should not serve as a shield to obscure the fact that BN's performance was subpar," he said in a statement today.
The International Trade and Investment Minister also pointed out that out of the 12 seats contested by BN in Selangor, only two were won by the party, and one of them was originally held by DAP.
"The results in Selangor revealed that the more Malay voters in the constituency, the harder for Umno to win," he added.
Following the election results, Tengku Zafrul shared that many Umno members have expressed their disappointment and sadness over the party's rejection, despite having served the state for the past 15 years.
"If this is not a clear warning, I am uncertain what else needs to occur before we accept that we have been rejected," Tengku Zafrul expressed.
He said that Umno needs to make some serious changes if it wants to remain relevant in the future.
"The party needs to make its direction and ideology clear and accepted by the grassroots, as well as giving the people confidence in their trajectory.
"I sincerely hope the party leadership will rise and correct the party's current situation, and make a serious effort to regain the trust of the people and the grassroots," he added.
Zafrul's comments come after Umno suffered a major setback in the recent state elections, where the party lost control of the state government for the first time in 15 years.
The results of the elections have raised serious questions about Umno's future, and the party is now facing an existential crisis.